Canada’s Hutchinson thrives in anonymity
Our best soccer player nears end of national career
He’s the greatest athlete to never win a Lou Marsh Trophy.
It’s hardly surprising. Most Canadians wouldn’t recognize midfielder Atiba Hutchinson from your Average Joe, let alone consider him Canada’s top athlete. Christine Sinclair might be the only Canadian soccer player they know.
“At times, it’s kind of strange,” Hutchinson said ahead of Canada’s friendly against Jamaica Saturday at BMO Field. “I’m a national team player, playing in (UEFA) Champions League, playing to win championships. It’s so strange. I come back (to Canada) with my family. My wife is so surprised that I’m never recognized.”
In Canada, our trampolinists and bobsledders are held in higher regard.
Hutchinson said it’s like living in “two worlds.”
The 34-year-old is adored in Turkey, where he plays for Besiktas, one of the biggest clubs in the region. He’s played against big sides in the UEFA Europa League. He’s competed in Champions League qualifiers against Premier League teams.
Yet here we are, hours from what could be one of Hutchinson’s final appearances for Les Rouges — the completion of a journey largely ignored for more than a decade.
Hutchinson ponders being the last of a generation of solid Canadian soccer players who fell short more often than not. While the U.S. and Mexico and Costa Rica are playing World Cup qualifiers this weekend, Canada is in rebuild mode.
“(Retiring from international duty) has crossed my mind a number of times,” Hutchinson said. “Just the thought of going through another cycle isn’t realistic. I spoke to the coach and he didn’t mind if I came in for this game and maybe again in the future.”
For now, coach Octavio Zambrano wants Hutchinson to act as something of a mentor. Having been eliminated last year from 2018 World Cup contention, Canada won’t play another meaningful match until 2019.
Hutchinson recalls his happiest moment while wearing Canadian red. He says the boys still joke about getting “robbed” at the 2007 Gold Cup, where his late equalizer in a semifinal meeting with the U.S. was incorrectly ruled offside.
“The highlight (of my international career) was a loss. That’s crazy. That’s my biggest achievement with the national team — that Gold Cup.”
It’s also the reason Hutchinson, despite earning 77 caps for his country, is largely anonymous compared with Olympic medallists and NHLers. klarson@postmedia.com Twitter.com/KurtLarSUN